Hi friends! How’s the day going? Hope you’re having a lovely morning. <3 I’m a little later posting today -did get some Livi-isms up on the Family page- because I had an appointment and hit up the gym for an easy run.

Current snack fave: chia pudding! I’ve been making it with almond milk, cinnamon, and topping with any fruit we have in the house. So so good! (PS Emily has an awesome tutorial here if you want to make a big batch for the week.)

Today I have a fun new circuit workout to share, using one of my favorite pieces of strength equipment: the kettlebell.

When I first started experimenting with the kettlebell, I thought it would be just like a dumbbell. WRONG. The center of gravity is different (the “bell” is weighted, while the handle is light), so you have to utilize your core to create movement with the bell -it seems to want to pull you back to where you started- and is especially beneficial for cardio blasts, like kettlebell swings. I would love to explore a kettlebell specialty certification in the future, but have been able to build up an arsenal of exercises from workshops and fellow instructors. (For a fantastic workout from my friend Brittany, check out this post!)

Here’s a circuit-style workout including some of my very favorites. For this one, you’ll want to warm up for about 5-7 minutes with moderate cardio and then move through the exercises quickly, with little to no rest in between. When you complete the circuit, take a one-minute recovery, and then repeat up to two more times.

Some form cues and tips:

1) Kettlebell swing: ground into your feet and stand hip-width apart. Hold the kettlebell in between your knees and start to gently swing it so you can gain some momentum. When you’re ready, power through your hips, glutes and core to swing the weight up to shoulder height, then bend your knees, swinging it back to start. Remember that you are NOT using your arms to lift the weight; this is pure glute and core power. Every time the weight goes up, make sure you’re strongly exhaling.

2) Squat to upright row: place your feet under your hips and hold the kettlebell in one hand. Keep a lifted chest as you sink your hips back and down into a squat (weight in your heels), lowering the kettlebell towards the floor. As you rise from your squat, lift up from your elbow (keeping your shoulder pulled down) into an upright row. Repeat on the opposite side after finishing your set for this arm.

3) Lunge: step one foot forward and the other foot back, keeping your feet hip-width apart. Whatever leg is forward, hold the kettlebell in the opposite hand. Keep your core tight and chest lifted as you lunge and lower your back knee towards the floor (without touching it). After your reps one side are finished, complete on the opposite side.

4) Single leg row: step one foot forward and one foot back, keeping legs hip-width apart. Hinge forward from your hips, and bring all of your weight into the front leg to carefully lift your back leg off the floor. Whatever leg is lifted, be sure to keep that hip pointing DOWN, so your hips remain parallel to the floor. Holding the kettlebell just below your shoulder, exhale and squeeze your back to row. Lower and repeat on the opposite side after all reps on one side are completed.

6) Twist: hold the kettlebell with both hands, elbows wide, and sit on the floor with your ankles crossed. Lean back slightly, keeping a straight spine and use your core to lift your feet off the floor. Contract through your obliques, and exhale as you rotate side to side.

Let me know if you give it a try!

Do you work out with kettlebells? If so, what’s your favorite exercise? Current snack obsession?

Hiiii. How’s your Monday going? We’ve had a lovely morning. Still tons of rain, a sweaty BODYPUMP class, and Livi’s gymnastics class, which is one of my favorite things ever.

So, there are a few customs I wish the US would adopt. #1: the siesta. WHY CAN’T WE HAVE A NATIONAL SIESTA? My family is Hispanic, and it’s pretty normal for us to relax in the afternoon: we take a snooze, or just chill until we go for round 2 in the evening. When the Pilot and I were in Italy, all of the shops and restaurants closed in the afternoon. (It made for an awkward situation when we were starving at 2pm, meandering around the streets and everything was closed. We got the hang of it after the first day.)

Everyone went home to nap or relax, and businesses reopened early evening to enjoy until late night.

SWOON. It was glorious (and I think about going back to Italy, or living there, on a daily basis).

I napped almost every day until a few years ago, but I’ve been trying to bring the siesta back. Even if it’s just eyes closed for 20 minutes, it makes a huge difference.

#2: afternoon tea. (Even though we do the “latte all day” haha.) Loooove a cup of coffee or tea in the afternoon with a small, sweet treat. It’s comforting, and a lovely boost of energy. I tend to rotate between the types or tea and coffee (right now I’m back on the Tulsi Rose tea), but for the sweet treat, I’ll have some chocolate or whatever we have in the house.

Right now, it’s some of this.

Cake is always a good choice.

When we go out to eat, dessert is usually an easy choice for me. Don’t be mad but I despise creme brûlée, and I’m not really a fan of ice cream-type desserts. But if cake, cookies, or chocolate are involved, the answer is YES.

It’s been fun to experiment with grain-free creations lately, using nutty almond meal. This particular cake has a rich and dense texture, similar to a pound cake, with a bright lemon flavor. It’s the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.. right after that siesta.

Let me know if you give it a try!

Here’s the recipe:

Luscious grain-free lemon cake

2015-03-02 15:16:55

Yields 8

A dense and sweet Paleo bread with bright lemon flavor. Perfect for an afternoon snack or breakfast accompaniment.

Hi friends How was your weekend? Ours was gloriously relaxing. It was sunny on Friday,

but Saturday and Sunday were cozy rain days.

Similar to Tucson, everyone tends to hibernate here what it rains… except for the snails. Our old jalapeño plant is Snailpalooza 2015. We embraced the 54* cold front (my bro Kyle, who lives in Great Barrington, MA, laughed so hard when I told him this) and built a fire.

We love the fireplace here so much, and it was so fun to take advantage of it. It felt like a lovely San Diego winter evening with the fire crackling, and meatballs and marinara on the stove. Liv has been asking me to make meatballs for a few days now, so it definitely had to happen.

(lately we’ve been mixing zucchini noodles -spiralized using this awesome tool- and quinoa noodles. It’s an easy way to boost fiber content and get some extra greens.)

(Apologies for the blah iPhone photos. At night, my DSLR takes yellow pics, and I still haven’t quite figured out how to fix it)

Hi friends! How’s the weekend going? It’s rainy and beautiful here; a perfect cozy Sunday! We’re off to brunch with friends but I thought I’d stop by and say hi, and post the tentative meal and fitness plan for the week if you’re planning and prepping today, too.

(Last night’s dinner: grilled chicken, sweet potato fries and kale Caesar… with a side of screaming for the Wildcats. Such an intense game last night!)

I am loving all of the funky mesh details for spring; they add a little bit of interest and style to solid athletic wear. The last time I wore mesh was probably in the 80s when I had awesome crimped hair and these whitewash overalls with jewels that I wanted to wear every day. Take me baaaaack.

Today’s mesh is a little more understated than the days of yore, but I love the small details, like the back of this Fablectics sweater:

Patterned leggings used to freak me out. The wrong type can be unflattering, and it can be tricky to find tops to match without looking like it’s too much. A simple top usually works well, and as far as the patterns go, I try to stick with a more neutral base color and smaller prints.

Hi friends! HAPPY FRIDAY Any fun plans for the weekend? We don’t have anything crazy going on, but I’m excited to hit up the farmer’s market and watch some of the Oscar winners that we haven’t seen. (The Theory of Everything is happening tonight.)

Something exciting about today: the Pilot is home! He was gone this week for work. Liv and I had a blast during our girls’ week, but we definitely missed him. At night, especially after Liv is asleep, it feels pretty lonely. We were so excited to see him again. <3

In standard Friday fare, here are some faves from the week and around the web! I always love hearing your faves, too, if you’d like to shout them out or link them up below!

Goat cheddar. Picked this beauty up at Trader Joe’s and it’s amazing on a brown rice tortilla with marinara, zucchini and red pepper flakes.

Pink Peonies. I live under a rock because I just found this blog this past week, and it is gorgeous. Next time I need outfit inspiration, I’m heading here.

Coconut milk at Starbucks! I got this delicious decaf coconut milk latte with one pump of vanilla. I’ve read some online critiques about the coconut milk they use, and while I love fresh homemade coconut milk as much as the next person, STARBUCKS HAS COCONUT MILK. I’m not kicking a latte horse in the mouth.

This face scrub. I’ve mentioned it here on the blog before, but I’m still obsessed with it and about to replenish the stash. It smells absolutely lovely and isn’t too harsh.

What are you loving this week? Any new Trader Joe’s finds? Read anything awesome on the web? Please link it up below! Have a very happy Friday and I’ll see ya later today with a Fitness Fashion Friday post.

xoxo

Gina

Congratulations to the book and cookies winner, Janelle! (Winner was emailed last night) <3

Hi friends! How’s the afternoon going? Hope you’re enjoying the day! Today was an off day from workouts and teaching, and has been gloriously relaxing. I’m making some chili for dinner and excited to watch the Cats play later tonight. MARCH MADNESS is right around the corner! Speaking of March, if you’d like to receive the March workout calendar -I’ll send it out Monday bright and early- be sure to subscribe to my newsletter below.

Get the calendar here:

For today, I have a fun booty burner video to share. I feel like booties are totally the hype right now? It’s interesting to think of all of the body shape trends, but a strong, lifted perky booty, is always a good thing. Glute strength is also critical for everyday motions -think of how often we squat to stand throughout the day- and a strong lower body will increase the faery and effectiveness of your workouts and classes.

Here is a quick (but intense!) burner workout, using some fave barre moves, and one of my fave tools: the Pilates ball. You can pick these up at the kids’ section in drugstores or Target. Liv was upset that I was smashing her mermaid ball so I eventually ordered my own from Amazon. They’re about $5! If you don’t have a ball, no worries; a small pillow will do, or you can skip it, and will still feel the burn. Remember to check with your doc before making any fitness changes and honor your body. Modify as needed.

Hi friends! Happy almost-the-weekend!! Hope you’re enjoying the morning so far. <3 Don’t forget to order the book and cookies giveaway! Book. Cookies. All you really need in life.

So last time I was going to do more of a “day in the life” style post, I gashed the heck out of my hand. Since I’m superstitious about weird things, I stayed away from this type of post for a loooong time. Instead of a full day, I thought it would be fun to do a photo an hour type post, since I’ve been asked to do more daily type stuff.

Here we go.

6:30am: nowadays, most mornings begin like this. Our tiny human alarm clock comes into the room to say “good morning” and I come out to the den to turn on a show for her until I can transform into my human, non-zombie, state. We snuggle on the couch and watch Super Why before I head into the kitchen to make breakfast.

9:00 selfie in the living room before Livi heads to school. She goes a couple of half days each week and absolutely loves it.

It’s her time to enjoy playing with other kids, create art projects that I’m not crafty enough to do here, and learn from her wonderful teachers. I have a solid block to get some work done and teach any morning classes I might have that day. Quick cleaning blitz throughout the house and head out.

10:00 barre thirty! Serious thigh quake today.

11:00 Conference call and writing blitz at Crown Point, with a berry and wheatgrass smoothie.

1:30 playtime and stories before nap. I didn’t want to take my phone in to snap a pic, but we played with her My Little Ponies and then read, A,B,C, Just A Little Love, and The Giving Tree. Random note: when I first read her The Giving Tree (which was one of my favorites when I was little), quite a few months ago, I called my mom because it brought tears to my eyes. “And the little boy takes everything the tree has, and the tree gives until it has nothing left, and still says it was happy, and it’s just heartbreaking…” and my mom said something like, “how blessed to be able to give.” She is so wise.

2:30 work stuff round #2. I crank through emails, write my little heart out, schedule conference calls, and study. Bell and Caro are starving (because their last meal was HOURS AGO) and barking at me to feed them. I make them their Honest Kitchen, have some lunch, and get as much done as I can.

4:30 Pre-spin snack: apple with almond butter and chug a green juice.

5:30 packed and sweaty spin class!

6:30 dinner at Tender Greens with Livi:

We share a carrot cake, too.

7:30 Livi helps me in the kitchen and we pack up our food for tomorrow. I usually like to have lunch and snacks ready to go, especially if we’ll be out and about. I make her an almond butter and jelly wrap with raisins, and star-shaped zucchini.

Hi friends! How’s the day going so far? So glad you liked the banana pancake recipe. It’s SO easy and so so good. We had them again today! PS I figured out to secret to get a toddler to eat anything: make it for yourself. Whatever I’m eating (salad, smoothie, veggies with hummus), she immediately wants. Sometimes it’s my way to sneaking in some veggies… I make a plate for “myself” and before you know it, it’s gone.

Today, I received an awesome package from Lauryn of Skinny Confidential. If you haven’t checked out her blog, I highly recommend it for beautiful fashion photos and lifestyle posts. She also lives here in San Diego and I creepily wish we’d run into each other somewhere.

Her book recently launched, and is packed with gorgeous photos, recipes, workouts and advice. The recipes range from kombucha spritzers, to meals and snacks, to juices, to “the raddest fake pasta on the planet.” There are also some helpful beauty, fashion and fitness tips.

Some workout moves from the book:

THREE EASY EXERCISES YOU CAN DO WHILE WATCHING “REAL HOUSEWIVES OF WHATEVER.

”Sexy Stemmers (AKA good, old-fashioned lunges): Lunges, lunges, lunges! Tone the legs fast and efficiently by standing with your feet hip-width apart and parallel. Place your hands on your waist. Step forward with one leg and lower your body by bending both knees. Take both legs to ninety degrees. Hold for a second and switch. All the pressure should be in your heels. Do three sets of twenty at least twice a week.

Cracked-Out Squats: Feet are hip-width apart and parallel. Bend the knees, making sure to keep them in line with the butt. Hands are on the hips. After you’ve done twenty squats, hold the last one down and pulse gently (down and up) for thirty seconds for three sets.

Balls to the Walls: Grab a huge exercise ball. Press your lower back into the ball while contracting your abs. Feet are hip-width apart and parallel, hands are behind your ears. Press your spine into the ball and do a sit up. Do three sets of fifteen.

I always love to see women, and fellow bloggers, achieving their dreams, so I’m really excited to spread the word about her book! If you’d like a copy, simply leave a comment below and I’ll pick a lucky winner to receive a copy. I’ll also bake some vegan chocolate chip cookies to send to the lucky lady or dude, too.